The morning after the banquet ended, Remesis woke up as the sun rose in the sky and the sweltering summer humidity hit the back of her neck.
The girl, who had been staring at the ceiling with sleepy eyes, slowly pulled herself up to sit up. She thought back to what had happened yesterday. So it wasn't a dream? Remesis grinned and ran her fingers through her dishevelled dark hair.
She could never imagine her wife doing something like that, even given her personality. Besides, Remesis was even more surprised that Asil had returned to the imperial palace for the first time after years of absence... And it happened in this particular way.
Anyway, that the princess' act was definitely crazy is just a fact, Remesis thought. She rubbed her eyes.
The chirping of birds outside the window pierced her ears.
- ...
As soon as Remesis turned her head, she saw a maid open the door and enter the room. Several other girls entered behind her as well. Seeing that she was awake, the maids smiled shyly and motioned for her to do her morning routine.
— Your highness, I will do your hair now.
The maid approached the princess of the north with a comb and started brushing her hair, but the girl wasn't fully awake yet.
— As soon as I finish tidying up the princess's hair, I will bring you some water to wash your face.
The other maid at this time placed the brought dress on the dressing table.
Remesis muttered with half-closed eyes:
— Can't we do this a little later? I'd like to take a nap a little longer...
— The Lord of the North is waiting for you outside. I can't take up too much time.
— What? She's waiting for me?
— Yes, the Duchess has just arrived. She is waiting for you in the garden to have breakfast together,'' the maid said.
After this news, Remesis, still only half awake, patiently exhaled. Even if she wouldn't turn down the opportunity to lie down a little longer this morning, she still got up to start her morning routine. Primarily because she needed to have a serious talk with her spouse about what had happened.
— Okay, that's it.
After finishing tidying up the princess's appearance, the maid quickly opened the door in front of her. The other maids also parted in front of her, allowing the princess to enter.
Remesis walked down the long corridor with an indifferent face and soon appeared in the garden.
The atmosphere there was truly impressive. A garden surrounded by flowers, a table in the middle where food and drinks were arranged. Remesis leisurely approached the woman with silver hair, bowing her head slightly as a greeting.
— Wife, good morning!
Remesis, who had not had a good morning at all, only frowned at those words. Judging by the princess's cheerful demeanour, she was not at all worried about what had happened yesterday. Well, to do something and not to feel a bit of responsibility for it was quite in her spirit.
— Have a seat, ' Asil Nara Asheloth motioned for her wife to sit down.
Remesis, sighing softly, followed her words. The girl's eye twitched involuntarily when the princess subsequently, with a nonchalant face, began suggesting she try one thing or another. Remesis finally stopped this flow of words as she opened her mouth.
— Your highness, what is going on?
Asil did not answer her question, but instead responded with a question.
— Wife, how about we try this strawberry pie? I heard that it has recently become very popular in these parts, and told me to make it especially for you...
'.....'
Remesis squinted her eyes. She looked at the princess sitting in front of her, not hiding her annoyance, and called out:
— Asil.
Despite the fact that they had been married for quite some time now, Remesis was rarely, extremely rarely, able to address her wife by her first name. More often than not, she never did so, instead using a title.
The meaning of that name alone was complex and powerful. And that was made clear by the reaction of the princess herself.
Asil looked directly at her, then lowered her eyes. The young woman that had previously acted carefree changed in her face soon enough.
— Let's talk.
Even pet dogs are prone to getting out of control sometimes. If Remesis missed this opportunity now, then she would be dragged around forever afterwards, even if she put a leash on that dog. Remesis wasn't about to loosen the leash on a dog that wasn't obeying her commands, so she decided to gently tighten the leash.
— What do you mean let's talk? ' — After hesitating a moment, Asil interrogated.
— What do you think I'm going to tell you?
Asil closed her mouth. But Remesis wasn't going to let the princess keep her mouth shut any longer. This was a situation on which too much depended, and one that could not be quietly turned a blind eye to. Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, she spoke again:
— Your highness, when do you plan on travelling back?
Asil immediately asked:
— Wife, what about you?
Remesis hesitated for a moment. It took her a few moments before she could find the words.
— I... Will also try to return as soon as possible. But first of all, we can't leave the situation as it is now. You've gone away and left the North unattended. How long can this situation continue?
The woman's crooked face frowned uncertainly for a moment. She was silent for a while, and then opened her mouth.
— What do you mean, 'unattended'? — She muttered slowly, - Didn't I say that Heitz...
— Heitz Adelfo is too young and has no experience in managing a large estate, ' Remezis was the first to put in a word.
In the time that Heitz Adelfo had worked for her, Remesis had seen that the young man was a trustworthy man, but experience was another matter. Someone who until recently had been calculating the price of grain sacks for the stables would have found it too difficult to dispose of the administration of the entire northern principality.
Besides, there was another reason why Asil's return to the northern fortress didn't need to be delayed.
— With your speech yesterday, you had practically announced to the entire empire that the north was currently defenseless and unattended. What if someone tries to attack the fortress in the meantime?
Remesis looked at her consort intently.
She was well aware of the fact that their enemies, of which they had more than enough, were not dormant. Wouldn't it be a good idea to take advantage of the one-time absence of the lord and her wife to try to strike the North Fortress during this time? Even if the power of the northern army was indeed great, but would they also be able to coordinate well and repel the enemy's attack with the absence of the lord giving them orders?
Even the commander of the fortress was currently absent there.
In other words, Remesis was indeed concerned if everything would be fine in their domain for the duration of their absence.
But Asil's next reply simply stunned her.
— Wife, don't worry. I think that while we're away, the north will be fine...
These words of the woman seemed a little too flippant to her. Remesis was rapidly beginning to lose her patience.
— What? How can you say that so confidently? — the princess of the north was indignantly indignant.
— Wife, your fears are in vain. Besides, who would even dare to attack us?
— .....
Actually, there were more than enough such challengers.
And when Remesis was about to rebuke her again, Asil at that time, in her own manner, jumped to another topic that did not concern their previous conversation at all.
— ...Come to think of it, we might take this opportunity to finally take a holiday. Wife, after we got married, we didn't even have a honeymoon! And we've never gone on a wedding trip either.....
'What? How can she still talk about a honeymoon in this situation?! '
Remesis couldn't help herself and angrily blurted out:
— Are you really going to insist on this? Do you think it's a reasonable decision?
Without realising it, her true feelings came out. Remesis turned around again and looked at the young woman. The princess was still looking directly at her. Calm, eyes golden as shards of sunshine, not a single breath.
Finally, she slowly opened her mouth.
— Wife, I've told you before. All I want is to be by your side.
In an instant, her expression changed beyond recognition.
'.....'
Remesis opened and closed her mouth because she didn't know what to say. Although they were words she had heard many times before, Remesis had never taken them seriously. Now, however, for some reason, her breath caught. It was as if she found herself defenseless against a beast she herself had raised.
It was as if this whole situation was simply a foregone conclusion from the beginning.
***
Four days flew by.
Remesis hadn't realised that she would have to linger in the difficult and hated capital. Nevertheless, she still had business to attend to before heading back.
In the end, the princess of the north, who had planned to spend no more than a few days in the palace, ended up spending a few more days than originally anticipated. All because of the interference of her consort, who had disrupted all of her original plans with her sudden arrival.
During those four days, Asil had hardly left her side, as if they were actually on a joint family holiday. The fact that she couldn't be left alone made Remesis massively uncomfortable. However, Remesis' «inconvenience» certainly couldn't compare to what the rest of the Imperial City's inhabitants were going through at this time.
Although the Founding Day Banquet had already passed, the Imperial Palace also traditionally held other events related to this celebration, which the nobles could attend if they wished. If this was the usual situation, the palace would still remain noisy and crowded for the next two weeks.
However...
The very next day, most of the visitors to the Imperial City had already left in a hurry.
Remesis wasn't entirely sure what this mass exodus of Imperial Palace guests had to do with, but she suspected that it was not without Asil's influence. How, after all, could one have fun and carefree while under the thumb of the Northern Devil? But in any case, since the place was now much quieter and more peaceful, it ultimately played to Remesis' advantage.
Almost all the right conditions for the realisation of her plan were in place.
First of all, Remesis intended to enter the national treasury of the Imperial Palace, where relics and information about the Empire and the Imperial family over the past centuries were kept. Normally, only members of the royal family were allowed directly into this place. And this was the very case when Remesis was going to rightfully take advantage of her status.
After a few days, she finally managed to grab an opportunity when Asil finally left her, citing some important business of her own. That way Remesis could get away from her for a while. It was the perfect opportunity to visit the Emperor's treasury.
Although Remesis had not originally intended to hide her intentions from the princess, but she still decided that it would be better if she was convinced first.
So, the time had come.
Remesis walked through the territory of the imperial city, which usually didn't see many people. Even if it was difficult, she wanted to make her visit to the treasury as inconspicuous to prying eyes as possible.
The girl was walking along a narrow path strewn with colourful gravel.
At that moment something strange suddenly flashed into her field of vision. Remesis even thought she saw a ghost at first. The princess blinked rapidly.
'Hmm...What is that...?'
Even if she was only imagining it, but Remesis was sure that the ghost she saw had silver hair.
A ghost with silver hair? Did such a thing exist?